Italian Campaign
The 'Italian Campaign '(1796-1797) was a major theater of the French Revolutionary Wars that took place in northern Italy, mainly in the Austrian Empire's regions in the area. The First French Republic's progress caused Pope Pius VI to ally the Papal States and the Republic of Venice with Austria, but despite some victories over France in the Province of Modena, the alliance was defeated when Napoleon Bonaparte captured Klagenfurt, forcing Austria to make peace or lose their capital. Background The progress of France in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition slowed as General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan started to lose several battles, earning him the nickname "The Anvil". The French general Napoleon Bonaparte, meanwhile, was rewarded for crushing a Royalist rebellion with command of the underpaid, under-supplied, and rapacious Army of Italy in Alpes-Maritimes in April 1796. At the time, the Austrian Empire controlled most of the north and had the Kingdom of Sardinia as allies in the theater. Napoleon felt that if he could take Klagenfurt and threaten Vienna that he could pound the Austrians into submission. Campaign Annexation of Piedmont Napoleon's first steps were to subjugate the Sardinians, who proved to be a weak foe. After defeating an army of Austrians in southern Liguria, he conducted a campaign against them. General Jean Seruier captured Coni and Napoleon took Torino, which ended Sardinia's involvement. On his knees, Victor Amadeus I of Sardinia surrendered to France and became a protectorate. He abandoned his alliance with Austria and paid France tribute, ending his role in the war. Liberation of Northern Italy Having brought Sardinia down, Napoleon planned out his offensive against the Austrians. Having long endured Austrian rule, the people of Milan were looking for a liberator. Napoleon took 9,400 French troops and marched on the city and accepted the surrender of Ferdinand Becker, gaining control of the city. After taking Milan, he continued on to take control of all of Austria's remaining cities in northern Italy. In Late November 1796 he captured the stronghold of Mantua and in early 1797 took Parma, Modena, and Trient as well. Holy League Pope Pius VI, disturbed by the rapid French conquest of Italy, called upon the Papal States and the Republic of Venice to join a Holy League against France. At the First Battle of Reggio in Late April 1797 the Papal States army was defeated by Louis Gabriel Suchet and a Venetian siege of Mantua failed, but Modena fell to the Papal States later that month. In early May Suchet won again at the Second Battle of Reggio against the Papal States and Modena was recaptured by the French, Bologna soon after. Verona's fall in early June knocked Venice out of the war, and although a French invasion of the Papal States at Ancona was beaten at Senigallia in July, the theater closed with an ultimate French victory. Push on Vienna From Early May 1797, as Suchet fought the Holy League, Napoleon Bonaparte's army invaded Austria's few remaining possessions in Italy. In May he took Innsbruck, in Austria itself, and he secured the mountainous borders. However, the Carinthian mountains impeded his progress into Italy. At the Battle of Obervallach he defeated the army of Wolfgang Zucker and Leon Gervinus in Late May, crushing both separately. A drive on Klagenfurt was bloodily repulsed at the Battle of Spittal in early June, one of Napoleon's first major defeats. But Joseph Alvinczi marched to Innsbruck, leaving Klagenfurt undefended. The French generals Seruier and Napoleon marched to Klagenfurt, which Napoleon took by storm. This ended the great campaign in Italy. Treaty of Leoben Fearing the rustic Corsican, Franz II of Austria decided to make peace. Klagenfurt was the last bastion between Italy and the Austrian capital of Vienna, and when it fell, Vienna's gates were wide open to Napoleon. The Austrians ceded control of northern Italy to France in exchange for Venice's Greek territories, and the War of the First Coalition ended in a French victory. Aftermath The victory in Italy made Napoleon Bonaparte a celebrity. His famous crossing of the bridge at the Battle of Arcole, French tricolor flag in hand, was immortalized by a famous patriotic painting, and he became popular among the people. The only thing that saved the First French Republic from a coup was Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign in 1798, which would be a near success had it not been for a British-Ottoman victory at Acre. Meanwhile, the loss in Italy meant that Austria would lose to France for the first time, and they made fierce enemies with them. In 1798 the Austrians allied with Britain, Russia, Naples, Portugal, and the Ottomans against the French, but they were defeated again in Italy at the Battle of Marengo in 1800. This defeat would again cause Austria to make peace, and the Third Coalition of 1805 was the greatest alliance against France made. Category:Wars